One-Shot
by thelifehypothesis
Summary: Felicity is hurt and gets drunk. This one shot is now many. My version of what happens in between the episodes we watch.
1. Chapter 1

Felicity hitched up the length of her dress a few inches and, as tentatively as a drunk Felicity could, stepped out onto the wet grass. She walked along the vast expanse of the lawn with no particular course or direction. The atmosphere was magical, romantic even. With the din of the party behind her and the illumination of only the stars, Felicity trekked along the grass, clutching an empty champagne glass in one hand and a near empty bottle in the other, along with the hem of her dress.

"Felicity. Where are you?" a concerned voice buzzed in her ear. Remembering the pesky thing, she grabbed the little communicator and dropped it in the grass. She stared up at the stars trying to figure out constellations that her mother had taught her when she was a child. She picked out Ursa Major and tried to imagine line that would lead to the North Star, but she was at a loss. She sorely wished she had paid more attention.

Staring at one plane and walking in another had some nasty repercussions for the uncoordinated, especially drunk and uncoordinated individuals. The wet grass offered little traction and Felicity landed on her back. Propping herself onto one elbow she poured herself another glass of the $200 bottle of champagne, figuring that the Queens wouldn't notice one of the fifty or so bottles circulating the room.

Felicity opened her mouth to let the crisp drink glide down her throat. As she emptied the glass, she could feel the alcohol stoke the small fire in her chest. She began to pour herself another glass, but thought better of it, putting her lips to the rim of the bottle instead. A single drop landed on her tongue. Lifting the bottle higher, she closed on eye and looked into the bottle with the other. Finding it empty, she dropped it beside her and let the precarious elbow that was holding her up give away.

She could feel the wetness of the earth dampen the back of her dress, but she didn't care. The sensation was, despite being dulled by her state of intoxication, refreshing. A bubble of sadness formed in her chest, but she swallowed it down. She didn't want to think, so she decided to figure out those damn constellations. Ursa Major. Ursa Minor?

"I'm pretty sure that's Cassiopeia."

"What?" Felicity asked, not taking her eyes off the constellation. She didn't need to look for the person who was speaking to her. Oliver Queen's voice was not a voice she was going to forget anytime soon. Felicity hadn't realized she had spoken out loud, but adjusted her eyes to see the W formation she had missed anyway.

"Do you know the story of Cassiopeia?" Oliver asked.

"Hm?" Felicity asked her mind focused on the stars that seemed to be moving towards her. God, she really had drank a lot. She let her eyes drift upwards to see an upside-down image of Oliver Queen as he stood above her, the white shirt of his tux glowing in the darkness.

"Cassiopeia was the wife of King Cepheus," Oliver began sitting down beside Felicity, shrugging out of his jacket.

"Oh, I know this one. My mom used to tell it to me all the time," Felicity interrupted, her eyes drifting from Oliver back toward the constellations. She watched the stars move closer and closer to her face. She was almost cross-eyed until one of the moving stars landed gently and melted on contact with her cheek, while the other got caught in her eyelashes.

She smiled at the sensation. She missed the proper snow covered winters of her childhood. It never snowed much in Starling City.

She licked at a stray snowflake that had landed on her lip and propped herself up once more, mimicking Oliver's position. Felicity continued a story as he draped his jacket around her shoulders. Her heart fluttered for a moment at the smell of Oliver all around her.

At any other time, Felicity's reaction would have been heightened and thoroughly embarrassing, in true Felicity fashion, but not tonight. Tonight she was drunk, miserable, and fighting tooth and nail to not think, to keep the paralyzing sadness at bay. Felicity pulled the jacket tightly around her absentmindedly. She wasn't cold; she just needed a barrier between her and the real world. She needed to feel protected.

Pushing the thoughts away she continued with her story. She turned to Oliver, who watched her carefully, searching her face, his warm smile not quite reaching his eyes.

"I used to get teased a lot in high school. I wasn't very pretty or popular, or coordinated, and well, it wasn't the best time for me. It did not help that I was a virgin till college."

Oliver said nothing. His eyebrows simply raised in response, a smile threatening to form on his lips.

"My parents, god bless them, weren't really conventional when it came to that sort of thing. Most parents gave their kids the 'Beauty is only skin-deep' or the 'Don't let the other girls make you feel that you're not pretty enough' speech. My mom gave me the, 'Vanity gets you hung upside-down in the sky like Cassiopeia' speech."

"She sounds like a good mom."

Felicity couldn't bring herself to respond. A simple nod would have to suffice.

"How do you know about Cassy?"

With an eyebrow raised and an amused look on his face, "Oh you know us billionaires and our yachts and general seafaring ways".

"How could I forget?" Felicity responded, rolling her eyes rather dramatically.

The warmth crept up from nowhere. She had been feeling fine a few moments ago and now she suddenly felt disoriented by the heat and the thrumming of her heart. Her chest began to tighten and her breaths were becoming shorter and more rapid. She clenched the fabric on her chest and pushed herself up with one hand, dizzily collapsing into Oliver's arms. When had he managed to stand up?

She watched his lips move, but she couldn't make out the words. "What?" she gasped, but she quickly realized why she couldn't hear his words. The ringing was getting progressively louder, like one hundred Cicadas on a hot summer day. He chest kept tightening and she was soon doubled over, the lack of air making her feel faint. Her skin tingled and she couldn't fell anything at all. Her vision blurred and the tears came unbidden.

"I can't breathe. Oliver, I can't breathe," Felicity rasped out.

"Felicity. Felicity I need you to look at me," Oliver commanded.

She looked up at his piercing blue eyes through her tear filled ones.

"Hey, hey, listen to my voice. Focus on my voice. You're having a panic attack. It'll pass in a few moments."

When she was sure she could stand on her own, he lifted his hands and cupped her face, his thumbs brushing away the tears the slipped down her cheeks.

"Take deep breaths for me okay."

She nodded, her face still captured between his two hands, and placed her hands on his. She took deep breaths in and out, trying to steady her heartbeat. In and out. In and out. Within a few moments her breaths came easier, just as Oliver had promised. His eyes never strayed from hers. Moments slipped away.

They stayed that way, unmoving, until Felicity's muscles began to unclench and relax. The realization of how hard she had been holding on to his hands struck her. The heat from his hands warmed hers, and as her senses began to sharpen she began to feel the warmth from his body radiate down hers, and only then did she realize how close they had been standing. Not wanting to make her crush on Oliver Queen any worse, she pulled away rather abruptly.

"Uh, um, thank you."

Oliver's gaze bore through and she knew he was checking to make sure that the attack had really subsided.

"I'm sorry…" she continued, wanting to fill the awkward silence.

"You have nothing to apologize for Felicity."

"I know, but the mission…" Felicity said, gesturing with one hand towards the mansion.

Felicity bit her lip and attempted to blink the tears away. "I shouldn't have come. You were right. You and Dig should've done this alone. We were planning this for so long and I'm so sorry I screwed this up and now he got away."

"We'll get him next time. There will be other opportunities." Oliver was resolute.

She didn't know why she was surprised. She shouldn't have been. Oliver was always a rock. She could always trust him, always depend on him. Even when she got the phone call earlier that day at the lair, he was there. He didn't ask what happened; he simply waited until she was ready and when she tried to tell him but failed, he held her close. He didn't offer any advice, he didn't probe, he just stayed with her. He never left her side. Now, looking into his eyes, she finally said the words she couldn't earlier.

"My mom died today Oliver."

She watched through watery eyes as his jaw clenched and he offered a small, almost imperceptible, nod. Pressing his lips to her forehead, he pulled her close once more, and held her as she cried, held her as the stars fell around them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Arrow is not mine, but god do I ever wish it was.**

**AN: So, this one shot is now two? I think maybe the mom thing was a bit of a surprise so I kind of wanted to give it some sort of closure and tie it back into the series. I don't really know if this should turn into its own story. I've kind of left it open. Also Mr. Smoak's name is a nod to one of the creators of the character (if I did my research right). I live for reviews so please tell me your thoughts. Thanks for all the love btw.**

Felicity grabbed her mug of tea and placed it on the small the wooden dining table that took up a considerable portion of the breakfast nook in her parents' kitchen. The room wasn't very spacious; the warm yellow paint had started to chip around the edges of the window and doorframe, the wooden furniture had seen at least two decades of wear and tear, and almost every bit of shelf space was covered pictures of family vacations, souvenirs, and knickknacks. The kitchen really was a microcosm of the Smoak household.

Falling into a chair Felicity grabbed the stack of bills she had already opened and began the arduous task of sorting through it all. It wasn't long before her mind was a blank slate and she simply watched the stray bits of tealeaves being picked up and whirled around as she stirred her tea.

"Felicity, sweetheart, it's nearly a quarter past one in the morning. What are you still doing up?"

Felicity was shocked to find her father standing right beside her, one hand placed on her shoulder. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and took in the sight before her.

He stood hovering above her, his tall stature shrouded in his plaid robe, his stubble flecked with silver, and his eyes sunken. His slightly bulbous nose and shock of silver hair gave Mr. Smoak a slightly humorous look about him, but it was his sparkling green eyes that let the average onlooker correctly induce that he was a handsome man in his youth; nerdy, but handsome nonetheless.

Felicity's father was a good man, a hero by almost any person's standards given his years a medical doctor, but that wasn't what made him a hero to Felicity. There was no gallivanting on the mean streets of Starling City for Mr. Smoak; he wasn't a hero in the same sense as Oliver Queen. The heroic decisions that befell Mr. Smoak were the ones that he made in the quiet moments of his everyday, ordinary, mundane life.

He was Felicity's sole personal hero up until the day she met Oliver Queen. On that day, she had two.

Looking at him now, Felicity's heart broke a little. For as much as she had lost her mother, Gerry Smoak had lost the love of his life. Felicity had never been in love. There was one time in college that she thought it might have been, but looking at her father now, there wasn't a doubt in her mind; Felicity Smoak had never been in love and she wasn't quite sure she ever wanted it to be. Her father, her hero, had become a shell of a human being in the days since her mother's passing.

"Felicity?" Mr. Smoak called again.

"Oh, just wanted to take care of some things before I returned to Starling in the morning.

"It's so late honey. I can take care of it."

"It's fine dad, Oliver keeps me up much later."

A sigh and the scraping of a chair across the wooden floor let Felicity know that her father had taken the seat across from her. He knew Felicity well enough and took pity on her lack of forethought, deciding not to dwell on her comment.

"Uh, oh god, no. Not like that." Felicity quickly clarified.

"So, this Oliver. He was the one at the funeral?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"It was nice of him to come. I didn't realize you were close," Mr. Smoak said, the question in the statement obvious.

"We're not. The job is …" Felicity paused before continuing, "demanding. Lots of hours so we know each other well. I wouldn't say we're close."

Felicity pushed her mug of tea towards her father with the back of her hand and poured another cup for herself. This was the most her father had said since he gave her the news. She knew what he was doing; he wanted her to believe he was going to be okay when she left. He didn't want her to worry about him; he didn't want to be selfish. Moments like these were when Gerry Smoak proved he was an everyday hero.

"He's good looking."

Felicity choked on her tea, partly due to the comment in general and partly due to the fact that this was a conversation she would have had with her mother. "Dad, are we really going to do this?"

When she saw that her father made no plans of backing down, she sighed deeply and decided to offer his curiosity some closure.

"Mr. Queen is a good boss," Felicity started, but with a quick glance at the look of skepticism her father was wearing she decided to forego the 'professional' route.

"Oliver is a really good guy and a good friend. I…may… slightly…have this tiny…almost non-existent little blip of a crush on him, but that doesn't matter. He is entirely unattainable and honestly, even if he had the slightest interest it would ruin our working relationship and I like my job. I like it a lot. I feel like I can do some real good by his side. You know?"

Mr. Smoak didn't ask what good she could do as a corporate IT specialist, but he trusted Felicity. He knew her good heart, it was the same as her mother's, and if she believed she could do some good, he knew it was a job truly worth doing. He gave her a small nod to continue knowing there was something else she wanted to say.

A few moments passed by as Felicity fiddled with the honey for her tea.

"He's in love with someone else anyway."

And there it was, the proverbial nail in the coffin of Felicity and Oliver's nonexistent, not a chance in hell, romantic relationship. Saying the words, especially to her father, carried a finality that she wasn't quite expecting. She looked up at her father and with a tilt of her head, she offered him the brightest smile she could.

"I know it may not seem like it, but I know a thing or two about unrequited love Felicity."

"How is that possible? You and mom met when you were practically fetuses."

"And it took me about 20 years of loving her before she decided to love me back," Mr. Smoak said, smiling at a memory he wasn't ready to share.

"That's not how mom told the story," Felicity said mirroring the own skeptical look her father had given her minutes ago.

"No, I suppose not. She told you the version she did because she wanted you to be independent, clever, witty, and brave. That wouldn't happen if you grew up listening to stories about chasing love instead of chasing your dreams."

Felicity rolled her eyes and smiled into her cup as she took a tentative sip of her hot tea.

"You are all those things and more. She was so proud of you Felicity."

Felicity bit back a sob and looked away, fiddling with the bills to stop the tears that began to blur her vision.

"I, on the other hand, spent my life chasing love," Mr. Smoak said and paused, lifting Felicity's chin with his index finger so that he could catch her eye. "I don't regret it for a second. My life is immeasurably better for it."

"Why are you telling me this now? I'm not in love with…"

"No, no I suppose you're not," Mr. Smoak interrupted, "It's just something to keep in mind. It's just I know they say love is a two-way street and that, but I beg to differ. Love can still be love, even if it might not be returned. What's the point of it being unconditional if it exists only on the condition that it be returned?"

Felicity smiled and shook her head, her hair falling across her face. She pushed it back with one hand and leaned back into the chair. "You know dad, I think you're a lot smarter than mom ever gave you credit for."

"Here that Grace?" Mr. Smoak asked looking up at the ceiling, smiling mischievously.

A sudden ping alerted Felicity to check her email. Felicity checked her tablet, but there was only one person would get a hold of her this late at night. A small smile formed on her lips as she opened the message from Oliver. There was a break-in at Queen Consolidated's Applied Sciences Division and Oliver needed her help. She could see from the words he chose how much he hated asking her to leave her father to come back. She sent him a quick email back saying she already had plans to be there in the morning and would meet him there.

"Oliver, I take it?" Mr. Smoak asked, placing his empty cup in the sink.

"Yeah, my work for Queen Consolidated is never done," Felicity replied, placing her tablet back on the table

Mr. Smoak shook his head and began to leave the kitchen.

"Dad?" Felicity asked suddenly. She turned in her chair to face him.

"How did you know? How did you know it was Oliver?"

Mr. Smoak smiled at Felicity and then looked at the ground. It was the same smile he wore when he spoke about his wife.

When he raised his head again, he looked at her thoughtfully and answered. "Just a hunch sweetheart. Don't stay up too late."

"Goodnight dad," Felicity responded.

She watched his figure recede and disappear around the corner. She turned back around and stared at the bills in front of her and quickly got to the task at hand. It had been a long and emotionally draining week, but the prospect of being back in the lair and keeping busy lifted her spirits. She wanted to get back and do some good again. It's what her mother would have wanted.


	3. Chapter 3

Felicity held on to her third cup of coffee as if it were her life force. Truth be told, it might have been the only thing keeping her on her feet. Her eyes quickly darted to her tablet. It was only 11am and she was exhausted.

Felicity hadn't been sure of what to expect when she returned to Starling City this morning, but she knew for certain that it wasn't this. She kept turning over the facts in her mind, trying to extract clues or motives that could have been hiding in plain sight, but she came up empty. Taking a sip of her coffee, she checked on her searches again; however, the only person that seemed to have any answers was Barry Allen.

Felicity turned ever so slightly in her chair towards Oliver's office. He was in a meeting with Isabel Rochev. She watched anger flash across Oliver's face repeatedly. For a second, a microsecond really, she felt like rescuing him from her path of destruction, but quickly thought better of it. Felicity may have to involve herself in their professional relationship, but she would not involve herself in their private relationship, certainly not after Russia. That was Oliver's mess and his decision; their conversation a few weeks ago had made that crystal clear.

Felicity didn't know where Isabel and Oliver stood now and, for now, she preferred it that way. A girl could only take so much pseudo-rejection.

In the weeks to come, Felicity Smoak would continue wonder what possessed her to do what she did next; it may have been the jealousy that she adamantly claimed didn't exist, it may have been a the need to take control of what seemed to be a life spiraling rapidly out of her control, or it may simply have been Barry Allen's baby blue eyes and infectious smile. She didn't know, but she grabbed her phone anyway, pulled out the Central City CSI business card she had gotten earlier that morning, and dialed the number.

"Mr. Allen?"

…

"Hi. My name is Felicity Smoak. I'm Mr. Qu…"

…

"Right. Of course. Barry."

…

"No! Please, call me Felicity."

…

"I, um, I just wanted to inform you that Mr. Queen has decided to handle the Queen Consolidated robbery internally and he would really appreciate an expert in the field to aid the ongoing investigation. Your expenses would be looked after of course."

…

"That's great! I could really use the help. I said Mr. Queen right? Mr. Queen would really appreciate the help."

…

"Wonderful. I'll email you directions on how to get here. Let them know who you are at the front lobby. I'll see to it that they are expecting you."

…

"See you in a half hour."

Felicity hung up the phone with a smile on her face. She hadn't spent much time with Barry at all; it was forty-five minutes at best, but that didn't stop the tugging at her heart. His voice alone seemed to pull her in. He was intelligent, which was a given, but there was this underlying gentleness about him that made him a much needed breath of fresh air. She suddenly found herself anxiously awaiting 11:30.

A large pile of papers being dropped on her desk broke her reverie. Isabel Rochev stared at Felicity with a poorly masked look of displeasure. "See to it that Oliver signs these before he leaves for the day and then send them to the Moscow subsidiaries. I want a copy on my desk by 2."

Felicity gathered the stack of papers in her arms and offered Isabel a tight smile. With a roll of her eyes, Isabel click-clacked all the way back to the depths of the fiery hell she had risen from. Felicity shut her eyes tightly at the sound, which was music to her ears.

She opened her eyes and peaked into Oliver's office once again. He was pacing back and forth and tugging at his tie. In that moment Felicity knew that this wouldn't be the best time to tell him about Barry. Oliver didn't seem to take to him the way Felicity had.

With a sigh, she walked over to the staff room, quickly made a cup of coffee, and walked back to Oliver's office with the stack of papers still cradled under her arm.

She strode past a pacing Oliver and placed the coffee on his desk. Dropping the stack of papers on his desk she turned around to face him.

He stared at her, one brow raised.

"First thing's first. That," Felicity said pointing to the cup of coffee, "never happened. And second, I need you to sign those stack of papers so I can get Isabel Rochev off my back and yours as soon as possible."

Felicity paused as she watched Oliver stride back to the desk, but he surprised her when he stopped just in front of her. Oliver grabbed the pen Felicity had tucked behind her ear, his fingers grazing the outer shell of her ear before he walked back to the desk. It seemed strangely intimate and that was all it took for Felicity to feel off balanced.

"Well, I can get her off my back. Yours is wholly another matter."

Oliver's hand paused for the slightest moment of time before continuing its fluid strokes.

"Not that… I wasn't implying the Russia thing or anything or that there was trouble in paradise. Not that, oh god, I don't mean to imply you two have a paradise to have trouble in. I just… I'm going to stop talking now."

"It's fine Felicity," Oliver said returning the papers to her, but she didn't miss the way his voice sounded a little harder than usual.

She knew she hit a sore spot. A part of her sought to reach out and smooth the furrowed brow, but she stopped herself. For what seemed like the millionth time today, she reminded herself of the conversation that they had had when the returned from Russia. Even though she knew they were one and the same, Felicity's place was by the Arrow's side, not Oliver Queen.

She set her jaw and turned to leave the office, but she was stopped by Oliver's hand on her elbow.

"We didn't get much of a chance to talk this morning."

"I'm okay," Felicity responded to the unspoken question.

"You know my offer still stands. If you ever need to tell someone about your day, you can tell me."

Felicity closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, painfully aware of Oliver's hand still her elbow. She nodded in response her eyes still shut.

"Thank you. It means a lot. And, thank you for coming to the funeral. I know you had a lot on your plate, but my dad and I really appreciated you being there."

"How is Gerry doing?" Oliver asked, perching on the edge of his desk. In that moment, he reminded Felicity very much of the Arrow perching on the skyscrapers looking out over Starling City.

Felicity took the seat that Isabel Rochev had previously occupied. She expected it to be warm, but the seat was as cold and as frigid as Rochev herself.

"He's as good as anyone can expect him to be. Actually I was meaning to tell you, my dad is coming down this Saturday night, just to get out of the house more than anything, so I won't be at Verdant. Think you and Diggle can manage one night without me?"

"You make it sound as though we're incapable of saving the city without you," Oliver responded smiling broadly, the kind of smile that made Felicity's heart drop low in her chest.

"As I recall you got very little done without me," Felicity teased.

"The girl has a point Oliver," John's voice called from somewhere behind her.

Felicity hadn't seen John since the funeral; she rose out of her seat and walked into Diggle's waiting embrace. He was the only other place, other than when she was with Oliver or her parents, which felt strangely like home.

"How are you holding up?" he whispered into her ear. She didn't know why, but she wanted to cry all over again in that moment.

"Okay," Felicity managed to go out. She thought he would let her go just then, but he held her for a moment longer.

"I saw that you called in back-up. He's waiting downstairs," Diggle commented, a whisper so quiet that even Oliver's sharpened senses couldn't pick up.

Felicity pulled away, her hands still gripping on to John's arms; her wide eyes silently pleading for John to keep her secret. A coy smile was his response.

Grateful for the sound of pinging in the distance she returned to her tablet to check on the searches. She didn't look at Oliver before leaving, worried that he would read her like the open book she is.

She could hear Oliver asking what Diggle found and Diggle handing Oliver the inventory list from the Applied Sciences division as she called up the CCTV videos she had been searching for.

Felicity watched them trying to sort through the information when she saw it. She glanced briefly up at Oliver and Diggle knowing what they would undoubtedly have to deal with and the fear of losing them, losing someone else she loved, overwhelmed her. Her arms and legs felt as if they were being slowly filled with lead and her heart began to beat frantically out of control.

Unsurprisingly, it was Oliver's voice she heard in her head reminding her to breathe, reminding her that the moment would pass. She purposefully took deep breaths and loosened her tightened grip on her tablet. They needed to know, the sooner the better.

A message letting her know that Barry was on his way up finally spurred her into action as she took long quick strides towards Oliver. She wasn't alone in this. She had some help this time. She wouldn't let anyone else she loved get hurt.

**AN: I know, holy updates batman! I'm on a roll with this and although it originally started as a one-shot, clearly this is turning into quite the multi-chapter (no real title yet though). So thank you, for your really kind responses. To all those people that reviewed, you are the reason this thing is turning into a multi. **

**You'll be happy to know I've finally got a direction for this thing! I really want to kind of connect a lot of the things we've been seeing on the show with my idea of what kind of happens in between. So, I'll be sticking fairly close to canon. **

**So, to get an understanding of my plans for this story, after reading this chapter I highly suggest you re-watch the scene when Barry makes his way into Oliver's office. :)**

**Until next time folks! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Can't wait to hear what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:**

**1. Dear CW, yes the first bit is your scene. Do not take legal action against me, I'm a poor student and am only using it to set the stage.**

**2. Dear beautiful readers, yes this is my second update in one day. I wanted you to have it because I'll be dying a slow death writing a 48 hour exam starting tomorrow.**

**3. This has not been edited. I just wanted to put it out there. I get a little excited sometimes. I'll edit once the exam is over.**

**4. I love you. Not as much as Olicity because that would be weird but definitely as much as Barricity because that's super cute. That is all.**

"You have to see this. I pulled up CC traffic camera footage from across the street of Applied Sciences," Felicity said pulling up a larger version of the footage before turning the tablet toward Oliver.

"This is three minutes after the alarm went off."

Felicity was so absorbed with watching the footage again she didn't hear the distinct sound of Barry's footsteps and the dragging of wheels against the granite floors.

"Can we help you with something detective?" Oliver asked. His eyes trained on the intruder, the displeasure blatantly obvious in his voice.

Felicity turned quickly and silently reprimanded herself for not preparing Oliver for this earlier.

"Oh, CSIs aren't actually detectives. Uh, we don't even carry guns. Just some plastic baggies," Barry offered with a happy lilt to his voice.

One of the happiest smiles Felicity had been able to summon lately broke across her face. She couldn't stop the small laugh that bubbled forward. She was rewarded with a smile that mirrored her own, despite Oliver's penetrating gaze.

"Uh, where should I set up my equipment?" Barry asked pointing to a small suitcase that he had brought with him.

"Uh, I'll show you." Felicity said, her body moving toward him of its own accord.

"What's going on?" The tense question filled the room. For a few moments, Felicity had forgotten about Oliver, which had you asked her any other day, was next to impossible, but suddenly all she could perceive was the tension emanating from the man standing beside her.

Her smile quickly fading, Felicity turned to address Oliver and then quickly back to Barry to try and explain the situation, but Barry answered for her. Once again, she silently reprimanded herself for not being quicker about it. She sent up a silent prayer hoping that whatever Barry said would calm the beast that seem to be rampaging inside Oliver, but she knew her prayers were in vain.

"What your assistant said was that you preferred to keep the investigation in-house. So, I cleared it with my captain to give you a hand," Barry said nodding as if her were confirming his own statement.

For the second time today, Oliver held her by the elbow and silently pulled her back towards him.

"What are you doing?" he whispered. He seemed off-kilter and Felicity couldn't quite place what was bothering him. She knew he was more worried than he let on and wondered what he may be keeping from her. Undoubtedly, it was another beautiful island girl that was the cause of his trouble Felicity guessed, but was vexed by the thought.

"We need to find this intruder and he seems to know about it more than any of us. Forensic sciences isn't exactly my forte. So… " Felicity paused as she looked at Barry, who was surveying his new surroundings.

"I think we need him. Wouldn't you?" she offered, her voice full of hope, and her mind desperately seeking to think of anything but his searing touch.

"Mmhm." Oliver's response was clipped, his lips pulled together to show his reluctance.

Felicity released the air from her lungs that she hadn't realized she had been holding. "I'll show you around," Felicity offered brightly as she walked towards Barry.

As she approached him, she took him in. He stood there under Oliver's steady gaze, but did not shrink. He stood simply, happily, with one hand tucked into his pocket and the other on the handle of his suitcase. She watched as a boyish smile played on his lips as he looked at her and then nodded quickly at Oliver.

Felicity walked ahead of him to grab her coat and purse, throwing a last glance at Oliver, who seemed to be in a serious conversation with Diggle. She would have to remember to ask about that later.

She looked over at Barry who was now beside her as they stood waiting for the elevators.

"So you now know where you can find me and Oliver."

"I hope I didn't get you into any trouble back there," Barry asked as he ran his free hand across his neck, looking up at her sheepishly through thick brown eyelashes.

"Oh, no. Oliver has a tendency to forget what he decided on so… he just needed to be reminded," Felicity asked her voice a little softer than it had been earlier. She pushed the button to go down.

"Here. I had security make you a temporary ID so that you can come and go as you please. It gives you access to the IT department here at Queen Consolidated and the Applied Sciences building. All non-sensitive corporate files are accessible through a secure remote server." Felicity said handing him the badge.

As Felicity handed Barry his badge their fingers brushing momentarily. Felicity couldn't help but notice how, despite giving her a mild case of schoolgirl butterflies, Barry's touch was simple and warm. It didn't make her skin feel as if it were alight with passion. She didn't feel as though she would combust under the feeling of his skin. It wasn't Oliver's touch, but it felt nice regardless. A little downtrodden, Felicity cast the thoughts aside.

A high-pitched ding alerted them that the elevator had arrived. Felicity stepped in to the elevator, but turned around upon the realization she hadn't been followed. She cast a glance over her shoulder at Barry who seemed to turn over the badge in his hand, a smile playing on his lips and one eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Barry? Everything okay?" Felicity asked, holding her hand out to stop the elevator door from closing.

Barry looked up and smiled at her. As he followed her into the elevator he commented, "It has my picture on it."

"Oh!" Felicity said, heat rising to her cheeks.

"Well security required a recent picture and I, uh, may have taken some liberties, with, uh, some internet searches of my own," she said looking anywhere other than at him.

"That's impressive because I don't really have much information about myself online. I'm kind of private that way."

"Mmhm," Felicity said noncommittally and nodded a touch too nervously. She noted that the doors of the elevator seemed to be closing in slow motion.

"Actually, this picture is the one they took of me when I joined Central City's CSI unit. I was pretty sure the only place it existed was on the police department's database."

"Oh? That's funny" Felicity asked, staring at the floor numbers change, willing them to change faster. Fifteen more floors to go.

"Computers aren't really my specialty, but I read somewhere that Central City actually uses a new type of security system developed by the NSA. It's supposed to be virtually impossible to break into."

Ten floors.

"That's really interesting. So, we're just going to stop at the IT department first so I can give you a bit of a walk through," she said, slowing down every word just to fill up the time. Barry Allen was smarter than she had remembered and Felicity wondered if the unlimited access she had given him had been a good idea; it had seemed so at the time.

Five floors.

"Felicity?" Barry asked tentatively.

"Hm?" Felicity asked, finally meeting his gaze.

She saw the twinkle in his eye and she knew he had figured it out.

"I hope I'm not overstepping, but did you happen to break in…"

"Oh! Look! Here we are. The IT department!" Felicity exclaimed.

Over the next ten minutes Felicity did not stop talking. In fact, she didn't even take a moment to breathe, or so it seemed. Every computer, personnel, and mouse pad was explained in painstaking detail. When she finally stopped talking they were back at the elevator and Felicity pushed the down button numerous times with more force than she intended.

When the elevator dinged its arrival once more, nerves overtook Felicity. Stepping into that tiny box with Barry felt like a death sentence. She didn't know how to throw him off her scent and her senses were still too inundated with anxiety to allow her brain to function.

"You're killing me here Felicity. Hypothetically, even if you could do it, it should've taken days not half an hour" Barry finally exhaled in a rush, moving closer to her subconsciously.

Felicity looked back at him, her eyebrows raised high above the upper rim of her glasses.

"How did you do it?" Barry asked sounding a little desperate.

Recognizing the call of a fellow academic, the desperate pursuit of knowledge and facts, Felicity puckered her lips and let out a slow steady breath. He wouldn't stop and she couldn't let this go on.

"I'm not admitting to anything, but if I tell you…" Felicity paused and took a step toward him. They were separated by inches, standing toe to toe in the middle of the empty elevator as they sped toward the ground floor.

Felicity hated herself for what she was going to do, but when you spend all of your waking hours with Oliver Queen you learn a thing or two, and it was time she used one of her new tactics – threats.

"If I tell you, then you let it go. Never bring it up again. You take it to your grave."

Barry swallowed thickly as Felicity leaned forward and whispered, "If you so much as breathe a word to anyone your days of subterfuge and gallivanting under false pretences of investigating crimes you weren't actually sent to investigate are over."

The shock of being caught was written over Barry's face. She had let him know she knew who he really was and she felt a swell of pride for doing her homework, but it was quickly displaced by guilt.

A moment passed between them, a moment in which Felicity realized she had sounded exactly like Oliver. As she stared into Barry's eyes, she saw something she wasn't expecting to see, something she hadn't seen since the day in the coffee shop when she turned over Walter's notebook to Oliver; Felicity Smoak wasn't expecting to see someone she could trust.

"I'm sorry," Felicity blurted out suddenly. "I don't want to threaten you. I don't mean to make threats. I mean I don't do it very often; only in dire circumstances and this seems to be one because no one can know. Can I trust you?"

"Yes," Barry responded vehemently. "I wouldn't tell a soul."

Looking down at her shoes and mumbled, "When I went to MIT, I worked part-time for Dr. Hardy who…"

"Who was the lead developer for the security system that the NSA uses," Barry finished for her.

Felicty smiled in response before she began to plead, "Please you can't…"

"I won't, but you realize that makes you one of the only people in the world that can do that."

"Yup," Felicity said, popping her lips at the final sound.

"Does Mr. Queen know that he has one of the brightest minds in the country working for him?" Barry complimented, causing Felicity to blush deeply in response.

For a moment, they were the only two people in the world. They had scarcely remembered their proximity to each other or the flushed look they both seemed to be wearing, and they had most certainly forgotten that the doors of the elevator had opened up to the lobby revealing an irate Oliver Queen on the other side.

"How astute of you Mr. Allen. However, I do in fact know that," Oliver responded in short angry sentences.

"O-Oliver!" Felicity jumped backwards at the intrusion. She didn't know why, but she felt like a kid who got their hand caught in the cookie jar.

"What are you doing here?" Felicity asked, exiting the elevator and putting some distance between Barry and herself.

"I happen to work here Felicity," Oliver replied with a hard smile.

"Actually, I thought I'd join you both on the tour. It would really be very interesting for me to observe the CSI process. I've always been so curious about how it all works," Oliver responded without a hint of a smile, placing his hand on the small of Felicity's back as he ushered her out the front doors.

"You were?" Felicity asked, stilling at his touch. Fire. Her body had finally exploded into flames and she cursed her traitorous body for responding in such a way. She needed him to stop having that effect on her.

As she walked onto the pavement outside she saw Diggle standing by the car with a poorly concealed smirk on his face. The frustration, confusion, and irritation Felicity felt whipped through her. She desperately wanted to avoid being in a car with Barry and Oliver; however before she could even process the events Oliver had a door open and urged her forward, his hand never leaving her. Felicity surmised that those touches would be the death of her.

"After you," Oliver whispered, his voice a soft caress that mesmerized her. When she came to her senses she was sitting across from Barry and Oliver had climbed in, shutting the door behind him.

Felicity was trapped in a car with Oliver, the man she did not love, and Barry, the man she had a crush on. As swiftly has Oliver appeared in the lobby, so did Felicity's headache.


End file.
